In this Dharma talk, given at a Metta Meditation residential retreat, Sylvia examines some of the key blocks we come up against that keep us from living in our true nature of joyful, loving, compassionate beings. Illustrating with stories, both poignant and humorous, she demonstrates that, our awareness to the contrary, we repeatedly fall away from living in our true nature, because we may forget who we really are. We may continue, for various reasons she discusses, to hold onto grievances that lock us into our own prisons of pain and suffering. It is through the liberating knowledge of meditation practice that we can free ourselves from this pattern. That is, in fact, the "edge" of this practice: that we can fall away into a sense of separateness, and that we are able to bring ourselves back to the truth of our oneness.

What are the challenging energies that all humans encounter? How do they arise? What is a wise and transformative way of working with these universal forces? These talks describe what have been classically called "The Five Hindrances" and offer instructions for responding to the weather that arises.